Mayor-elect Joe Ganim spoke publicly for the first time Saturday about the decision by outgoing Mayor Bill Finch to re-appoint the current police chief.

Ganim says he does not support the decision to renew the five-year contract of Police Chief Joseph Gaudett. He says people are angry in the community because it is a long-standing tradition for incoming mayors to appoint their own police chiefs.

City Councilwoman Mary McBride Lee says the vast majority of her constituents and fellow City Council members are furious at Finch for what they call his "final snub" of Ganim.

"Bridgeport is safe and getting safer every day because of Chief Gaudett's leadership," said Brett Broesder, Finch's spokesman. He added that Finch was thinking of the city's needs when re-appointing Gaudett. 

Ganim said he does not believe that the move will stand legally.

The head of the Bridgeport Police Hispanic Society, which represents more than 100 officers, says his group will ask Gaudett to respectfully decline the re-appointment. 

Gaudett was not available for comment.